Medical officers from Amma Mini-Clinics will be diverted to government medical colleges to attend to COVID-19 patients.
The decision follows a surge in infections in the State in the second wave of COVID-19.
The State launched 2,000 Amma Mini-Clinics in January and 1,645 doctors were recruited to run them.
The Deputy Directors of Health Services, under whose purview the mini-clinics fall, have been instructed to divert medical officers, on a need basis, as per requests from the Deans of the medical colleges or Joint Directors of Health Services to institutions that come under the Directorate of Medical Services.
The service of the remaining medical officers could be used for vaccination camps, COVID-19 Care Centres at the block primary health centres and other COVID-19 control activities at the block and district levels, according to the letter issued by T.S. Selvavinayagam, Director of Public Health and Preventive Medicine.
The Amma Mini-Clinics/Health and Wellness Centres will continue to function with the available healthcare providers and village health nurses.
The Deputy Directors of Health Services have been advised to instruct them to refer patients who require further treatment to nearby higher institutions for opinion and management.
